Mother's Day
by Batwoman
Summary: It's Mother's Day, season 6 and Ducky/Illya and April are finally living as a real couple. It's not all roses though as the NCIS team find themselves involved in a case that takes Illya and April back to a mission they were teamed on when they were U.N.C.L.E. agents. I won't say no to reviews. ;)


Originally published in Past and Present, no longer in print.

A/N: This is a sequel of sorts to Ducky's Pain, which is no longer in print. This takes place the following year that Ducky's Pain was set. This references events that took place in the MFU story First Date, which can be found here:

s/5993962/1/First-Date

Ducky's Pain can be found online here:

s/8504746/1/Ducky-s-Pain

Disclaimer: I'm broke and just playing with these, so please don't sue.

MOTHER'S DAY

April woke on Mother's Day to find her husband missing from their bed. She swung her legs over the bed and made her way to the bathroom to wash up. Once finished, she walked towards the door to the hall, grabbing her robe on the way. Opening the door, April slipped into her robe, tying the belt as she walked down the hall. The smell of breakfast wafted up the stairs to greet her. She smiled as she walked down the

stairs; this was to be the first Mother's Day in years that she'd be spending with her husband and son. April only wished her daughter was there to join them. This would have been Anya's first Mother's Day as a mother herself. Deciding this year she was going to enjoy Mother's Day with her family, she pushed the thoughts about her daughter aside. Nothing they could do now would bring her back. She paused at the foot of the stairs and took a deep cleansing breath. When ready, April walked into the

kitchen and saw Illya and Nico loading serving dishes with food. "Good morning," she sang.

"Happy Mother's Day," Nico said, smiling.

April walked up to Nico and wrapped her arms around him."Thank you," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.

When April turned to her husband, Nico picked up his dishes and said, "We're eating in the dining room," as he walked towards the other room.

"Darling? Why am I the only one in my pajamas?"

"Because you just woke up," he said, ducking out of her reach.

"Verrrrrry funny," she said walking closer to him.

"Happy Mother's Day," Illya murmured, giving his wife a kiss.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said "thank you," when the kiss ended.

"I'll get the rest of the food," Nico said, walking back into the kitchen.

Illya turned his wife around and led her into the other room. April was greeted with a big bouquet of roses in red, orange and pink with just a splash of yellow, in an elegant crystal vase towards one end of the table. The men had set three table settings, one at the head and two on either side. Illya pulled out the elegant chair at the head of the table and held it for her. April smiled and sat down, as Illya pushed the chair to meet her.

Moving to her left, Illya pulled the chair away from the table and sat down. Just as he placed the cloth napkin on his lap, Nico walked in with the last of the food. He placed the one dish down and handed April the plate of ham. She thanked him and speared a slice before easily putting it on her plate. When finished, she passed the plate to her

husband and then reached for the French toast. As April continued to load her plate with food, Illya poured coffee in her cup before filling his own cup.

Very little was said as the family took their first few bites of food. "Mmm, delicious," April said.

"Thank you," both father and son said in unison.

"The flowers are beautiful, thank you."

"You're welcome," Nico said. "We wanted this Mother's Day to be special."

Putting down her silverware, April placed a hand on Illya and Nico's hands and said, "Freely being with both of you is all I need."

The men smiled at April, knowing how special that first year of freedom would be for the Kuryakin family.

April gave their hands a gentle squeeze before returning to her meal. "So what do you boys have planned for today?"

"What makes you think we have anything planned?"Nico innocently asked.

"Because you," she said, pointing to Nico with her knife, promised your firstborn to get the day off and you," she then aimed the knife at Illya, "undoubtedly called in a few favors with Gibbs to not be on call this weekend."

"Actually, it was Jethro's idea that the team not be on call this weekend," Illya said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Really? Did he say why?" April asked.

"He said it was his present to you," Illya replied.

April smiled and made a mental note to thank Gibbs the next time she saw him. In the months that the family had been free, Gibbs had become somewhat of a regular in the Mallard house. April invited him over for dinner often, wanting to get to know the man that had been such a good friend to her husband. Gibbs, in turn, got a rare treat; he got to know the man behind the mask that was Doctor Donald Mallard. "Now tell me, what do you boys have planned for the day?"

"Not much," Nico replied.

"We thought a quiet, relaxing day would be nice," Illya said.

"That would be nice," April smiled at her husband.

"Maybe wander around some stores," Nico shrugged.

"That sounds nice," April agreed.

The small family spent the rest of breakfast making idle chit chat. April watched her husband and son, amused. One helping of everything was more than enough for her, whereas the Kuryakin men helped themselves to more. When they finished, the men shooed April away to get dressed while they cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Not one to argue, April made a quick exit for the master suite.

A short while later, Illya met his wife at the bottom of the stairs. "We're in the lounge," he said.

Walking into the room, April found the roses had been placed on the center of the coffee table. As she glanced around the room, April noticed the drapes were drawn closed. Illya led her to the couch closest to the window as Nico eagerly awaited his mother.

"Why are you grinning like the cat that ate the canary?" April asked as she sat next to her son.

"No reason," he replied.

Illya grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He placed the box on the table in front of April as he sat down.

April smiled at her husband. Placing a hand on his cheek she said, "I said 'yes' forty years ago."

Smiling, Illya prompted, "Open it."

She lifted the lid off the box and looked in. April was momentarily shocked at the contents, unsure of what to make of it. Realization dawned on her and April said, "You finished the car?"

"Actually, we finished it a few weeks ago," Nico said.

"Quiet, boy," Illya said.

April turned to face her husband and playfully glared at him. "You finished the car weeks ago?

"Uh oh," Illya quietly said as he backed away from his wife.

April advanced on her husband. "And just what have you been doing with our son all this time?" she questioned. "Teaching him about Geisha houses?"

"Wait, you've been to a Geisha house?"

With his back to the arm rest of the couch, Illya said, "Not now, boy."

"You're father was quite a scoundrel, don't let his innocent act fool you."

"I was not a scoundrel," Illya protested.

"You weren't as innocent as you pretended to be. Need I remind you of the Booth Affair," April pointed out.

"You weren't exactly innocent during that affair," Illya reminded her. "If I remember correctly, you started it."

"You play dirty," April shot back.

"What is the Booth Affair?" Nico asked, curious about his parent's past.

"Never you mind about the Booth Affair young man," April said, never taking her eyes off her husband.

"Don't you want to see the car?" Illya feebly smiled as he asked in an effort to sidetrack his wife.

"Yes I do, but you can't distract me that easily," she smirked.

"Well, if you're not going to check out the car, then I'll take it for a spin," Nico said, reaching for the key.

April moved with lighting speed, snatching the box out from under her son's hand. "Nice try squirt," she said. "I'm taking the car out for a spin, as you said, but I'm taking your father with me."

"What about me?" Nico eagerly asked.

"You can wait here," April said, rising from the couch and reaching for Illya's hand.

"This is the thanks I get," Nico faux-groused.

Taking his wife's hand, Illya rose from the couch and let her lead him out of the room. Not wanting to miss his mother's reaction to seeing the car for the first time, Nico followed his parents out of the house.

April stopped on the porch when she saw the car. It was a Cherry Red 1970 Triumph GT6 MK2 with leather seats. She was transfixed by the sight of the fully restored car. When her husband first brought it home, it was in such disarray. Wanting to get a head start on the restoration, Illya began taking it apart while April and Nico were in

Minnesota. Now here it was, looking like it was brand new and waiting for her to go for a ride. "It's beautiful," she quietly said. "Thank you," April said, giving her son a hug.

"You're welcome Mom," he murmured, returning her hug.

When April pulled back from the hug, she grabbed Illya's hand and walked down to the car. She unlocked the doors and slid behind the wheel, taking her time to settle in. Illya patiently waited as he watched his wife enjoy her new car. It made him happy to be able to do this for her. When her eyes scanned across the speedometer she immediately

stopped. Someone had carefully placed a pair of tickets in front of it. She reached for the tickets for a closer look. They were tickets for the symphony that night.

April didn't have to ask who they were from, she knew. Turning to her husband, she leaned over and gave him a kiss. "Thank you," she whispered when the kiss ended.

"You're welcome," he said, smiling. Illya took the tickets from his wife and placed them in the glove compartment for safe keeping. April smiled at the prospect of a date with her husband as she put the key in the ignition and turned it. She put the car in gear and peeled out of the driveway.

Nico looked on as his mother drove off, happy that all their hard

work had paid off. Deciding not to wait outside, he turned and ushered

the dogs back inside with him.

April was enjoying her new car. She shifted gears as she sped along streets, trying not to give into the urge to really open the engine up and see how it feels at higher speeds. "This brings me back," April said, unable to stop smiling.

"To what," Illya asked, unsure what his wife was thinking.

"To the days we were called the fantastic four."

"We did have fun back then, didn't we?"

"When you weren't being beaten, blown up, or shot at, yes," April smirked.

"I've been thinking. We should visit Galina and Yuri some time," Illya said.

"It would be nice for Nico to see your homeland. When were you

thinking of going back?"

"I don't know. We would have to talk to Nico, find out if he can take time off of work first."

"Well, if he can't take any time off, we can always go alone first and then another time with Nico."

"We could do that. Still, I would like to show Nico where I grew up, even if I didn't have a pleasant childhood."

April took her husband's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. Knowing how hard his childhood had been, it warmed her heart to hear Illya say that.

The family spent the rest of the day enjoying each other's company. Today was April's day, and Illya and Nico did everything they could to make it special. They made lunch for April and wouldn't let April do anything. Later that day, Illya put on his tuxedo as April slipped into a new, little black dress that she recently purchased and loosely draped

her shawl around her shoulders. The couple left early to eat dinner at a restaurant close to the Kennedy Center. A she was having way too much fun with her car, April decided to drive.

Later that night the couple walked back into the Mallard house. Not ready for bed, they walked into the lounge where Illya reached above the mantle for a box of matches. Finding his prize, he knelt down, pulling a match from the box. He closed the box and struck the match on the side, garnering a nice little flame. Illya held the match under the

logs waiting for one to catch fire.

"I had a lovely time today," April said as she made her way to the couch. She reached down and slid her shoes off, placing them on the floor next to the couch.

Satisfied once the fire was started, Illya stood and walked to the couch. "I'm glad," he said, sitting next to his wife.

April curled up to Illya and wrapped her arms around his neck. Not one to miss an opportunity, Illya wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him. "Thank you," she said as she kissed him.

"Mmm, you're welcome," he said when the kiss ended.

April made herself more comfortable and rested her head on Illya's shoulder. The couple spent the rest of the night talking.

Some time during the night, the couple had fallen asleep on the couch, Illya sitting while April lay down, resting her head on his lap with her shawl covering her like a blanket. Before he left for work at 4:30 that morning, Nico draped a blanket on his mother. Some time after 6:00 AM Illya's cell phone rang, waking him. He wearily fished around his pants pocket for the phone. Finally grabbing hold of it he flipped it open and said, "Hello?" After remaining silent a moment to listen to the caller he said, "I'll be right there."

April sleepily pushed herself up to rest on her left elbow, "What's wrong?"

"There's a dead petty officer in Falls Church," he replied. Illya

noticed the blanket covering his wife and smiled, he was proud of the man Nickolai had become.

Fully sitting up on the couch, April drew the blanket around her lower body. "You won't have time to change," she said.

Illya glanced down at his tuxedo and briefly contemplated going upstairs to change quickly. Agreeing with his wife, he reached down to put his shoes on. Illya gave her a kiss before standing from the couch.

"I'll see you after work," he said as he walked out of the room.

April lazily sat on the couch for a few minutes. She thought about going upstairs and crawling into bed for a couple more hours, but the dogs closing in on her wanting to be fed changed her mind. "Oh all right," she sighed, tossing the blanket off of her legs.

Illya parked the Morgan along the residential street and climbed out. He strolled up to the police officer in front of the police tape, taking his ID out of his pocket as he walked. When the officer held up a hand to stop the older man, Illya merely showed the younger man his identification and the officer nodded and held the tape up to allow Illya to walk through.

Humming happily, he walked up to the team, his eyes on the dead body. McGee had been kneeling next to the body fishing things out of his case, while Tony walked around taking pictures.

Ziva also walked around, taking notes. They both looked up when they heard Ducky approach. Not sure he saw correctly, Tony did a double take. "Isn't it a little early for formal attire?" Ziva asked when she looked up from taking notes.

"I'd say late. Looks like Ducky got lucky," Tony said as he walked around taking pictures.

Illya smiled; there was a time when he would have thought of many ways of hurting Napoleon for giving him this kind of grief. But it was different coming from his younger

teammates. Besides, it felt good to not have to hide the time he spent with his family. How many times did he leave town under the guise of going to a conference of some sort when he was really going to spend time with April and his children? He'd lost count of the many times he did that since becoming Doctor Donald Mallard. McGee courteously held out a pair of gloves for Ducky, patiently waiting.

Ducky took the proffered gloves and put them on before kneeling down to examine the body. There were no obvious signs of trauma aside from the pink tint to his skin, forcing Ducky to check the body for clues. "Step away from the crime scene," a man demanded, walking up to the group.

The NCIS agents turned to face the stranger. They looked at him a moment before turning to face their boss. Gibbs eyed the stranger a moment, sizing him up before he spoke. "This is NCIS business, who are you and why should we listen to you?"

"I'm agent David Jennings with the CIA. This man was supposed to meet me because we were working together," he said, flashing his identification.

"What were you working on?" Gibbs asked.

"I can't say," Agent Jennings replied.

"Well then, you can't tell us what we can and can't do here."

"I'm not authorized to say anything," Jennings sighed.

"Then who is authorized to tell me?" Gibbs asked.

David Jennings didn't like to admit when he was in over his head. He was relatively new to the position but had not been given full authorization to tell other agencies about their ops. He sometimes wondered if the directors were even authorized to reveal that kind of

information. He rarely heard his director tell other agencies what they were doing when their paths crossed. "My director," David sighed.

"Fine, call him. And while we're waiting, we're going to continue our investigation," Gibbs said.

Agent Jennings didn't like that, but he couldn't stop the NCIS agents from doing their job. He dug into his pocket for his cell phone and pulled it out, dialing the number for his supervisor. As the phone rang he walked away from the group for a more private conversation.

Ducky rose from his spot next to the body and motioned for Gibbs to follow him. "Call April," he said in hushed tones.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"It's been my experience that the CIA doesn't like dealing with agents like us," he replied.

Gibbs looked at the older man a moment, wondering when was the last time he had dealt with the CIA to know this information. Suddenly he realized his old friend

might not be talking about his experience with the CIA as the medical examiner of NCIS, but of his time with the U.N.C.L.E. He nodded and pulled out his cell

phone, dialing the number to April's cell phone.

Illya watched as his friend had a quick, yet quiet, conversation with April. Gibbs nodded to him as he ended the call and both men walked back to the group. "I might as well wait until they get here," Ducky quietly said as they walked.

"My director will be here in a few minutes," the CIA agent said.

"Good, so will our representative," Gibbs said.

"And now we wait," Tony said.

Gibbs glared at the senior field agent and growled at him to get back to taking pictures. With an "On it, boss," Tony went back to work. The NCIS agents were finishing up their work when a dark sedan pulled up in front of the house. The driver stepped out and walked up to the crime scene, flashing his CIA identification on the way. "Agent

Gibbs," he called out.

"Right here, and you are…"

"Director Harvey Tasker," the older man said, showing his ID. "I hear you're refusing to back off my case." Harvey Tasker was older than Gibbs with a full head of gray hair. He stood the same height as the former Marine and was a size or two bigger. The CIA agent sported a nasty scar down the once smooth right side of his handsome face.

The other NCIS agents stood to the side a few feet away, crowding around Ducky as they watched the men. Ducky had been staring at Harvey as soon as he heard the older man speak. "I don't believe it," Ducky quietly said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"What is he doing here?"

"You know that man, Ducky?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, he was an U.N.C.L.E. agent when I was." While the group was busy watching the men butt heads, a car roared to a stop next to the house. Tony swung his head around to see who it was. "A 1970 Triumph GT6," he said appreciatively.

"Fully restored," Ducky smirked.

The young agents turned to look at the Medical Examiner. "Is that…" Tony began but stopped at the familiar sound of a woman's voice. The NCIS agents turned back to watch the show.

"Gibbs, please tell me you have a good reason for wanting me to rush over here," April said, walking up to the men. Gibbs smiled at the woman; she was wearing a black evening dress, no doubt the same dress from the night before. It was nice to see

his old friend was enjoying himself. "I do, the CIA is getting in the way of our investigation."

"Are they now? And why is that?" she asked, turning to face the CIA director for the first time. "Harvey," she said, taking off her sunglasses for a better look.

"April Dancer? You're a sight for sore eyes. I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd see you again," he smiled.

"You know each other?" Gibbs asked.

April smiled and said, "We worked together at U.N.C.L.E."

"You were an U.N.C.L.E. agent?" David asked his boss in awe.

"That was a long time ago," Harvey replied.

"THE April Dancer?" the young agent asked, still in awe.

Harvey smiled at the young agent and said, "The one and only."

"Jethro, you didn't need me here. Illya could have taken care of things," April said.

"He told me to call you," Gibbs shrugged.

"That must have been when I said I was going to call my director," the young CIA agent said. "Wait, are you talking about Illya Kuryakin?"

April turned to the young man and said, "Yes we are, and just what did you say to Gibbs?"

"That I was calling my director."

"Ah, that explains it. The CIA never trusted Illya," April explained.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Harvey asked. "What does Illya have to do with anything?"

"He's here," April replied.

"I would have noticed if he was here," the older man said, crossing his arms across his chest, and having barely spared a glance at the other NCIS agents.

"Really Harvey," Illya said, stepping forward, "You have been away from U.N.C.L.E. too long to not notice me."

"That or you were right about hiding in plain sight," April commented, reminding Illya of a conversation they'd had with Mark and Napoleon over 30 years ago.

Harvey Tasker was genuinely shocked, the last time he'd seen the couple was the night he and Garret were assigned to guard the Solo twins. The same night the car blew up in an attempt to kill the Kuryakins.

"Unbelievable. I don't believe Illya's been hiding out as Doctor Mallard all

these years. I would have never guessed it."

"Tell you what Harvey, why don't you let my team get back to work and handle the investigation while you and I talk about your involvement with the Petty Officer over coffee, my treat. They'll do all the work while you sit back and read their reports."

"I don't know…"

"Think about it, Harvey, this frees up your men to work on something else," April said in the hopes of persuading her former coworker.

He mulled it over a moment before agreeing to let NCIS handle the investigation. "I'll tell you about my case and you tell me what happened after you disappeared."

"Fair enough," she said, putting her sunglasses back on as she turned to walk back to her car. "Tony," she called out, "wipe the drool off your chin, it's very unbecoming." Harvey followed the redhead back to their respective cars.

"Wow seeing April in that dress… she has a great bod…" Tony said.

Gibbs walked up to Tony and slapped him hard upside the back of his head. "I thought I told you to get back to work," he barked.

Tony cringed at the slap and said, "On it, boss."

Gibbs walked back to where Ducky stood next to the body and said, "She's good."

Ducky smiled broadly at his friend, "You should have seen her when we were U.N.C.L.E. agents. Now there was a sight."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Gibbs smiled.

Ducky once again knelt next to the body and went back to examining it. There was no blood anywhere around or on the body. Ducky carefully and gently moved the head from side to side, looking for bumps or bruises. Not finding any he rolled the body onto its side to give the back a cursory check. Once again he found nothing apparent.

"Judging from the pink coloring of his skin, I'd say it was cyanide poisoning, but I'll know more once I get him back to Autopsy and open him up," he finally said.

"What about a time of death then?" Gibbs asked, looking down at the body.

Ducky reached for the bag his assistant placed near him when they walked back to the body. He opened the bag and dug around for the liver probe. Finding it, he jabbed the probe into the Petty Officer and waited.

Like the others, Jimmy Palmer had received the call about the dead Petty Officer

some time after 6:00 AM. He was instructed to drive to the Navy Yard and pick up the truck so that they could transport the body back to Autopsy. While the team was waiting for the CIA director and April to arrive, Jimmy Palmer had arrived at the crime scene. He immediately pulled the gurney out of the back of the truck and began to load it with their bags. The young assistant closed the doors to the truck and wheeled the gurney to the group. Now he squatted next to the body and waited for his mentor to determine the time of death. He watched as Ducky pulled the liver probe out of his bag and dug it into the late Petty Officer's liver.

"I'd say around 4 AM," Ducky said after making the necessary mental calculations. "There's nothing more I can tell you here. Let's take this poor fellow back to headquarters, Mr. Palmer."

"Yes, Doctor Mallard," he said as he stood to fetch the body bag.

While the team finished up their work at the crime scene, April and Harvey were seated in a bustling coffeehouse enjoying a cup of java and a bagel. "So tell me," Harvey began as he spread some cream cheese on one half of his bagel. "What happened to you and Illya the night you disappeared? The last time I saw Illya, he made a mad dash out of

Napoleon's apartment when your car blew up."

April had taken a sip of her coffee and placed the cup back on the table as her old colleague asked his question. "Romanov was targeting Illya and me. Normally we would have stayed to fight, but I was pregnant and we didn't want to take any risks. We knew Romanov wanted us dead and knew the best thing we could do was go into hiding."

"Pregnant? So that explained things. Boy or girl?"

"Girl, Anya melted the ice prince's heart from the moment he first saw her," April smiled sadly. "We have a son as well. Romanov still found them though. Last year he killed Anya and poisoned Nico. That's what brought Illya and me back together."

"I'm so sorry. You weren't living together?"

"We spent most of the years living separately to protect the children. The only times we actually lived together after we left New York were during my first pregnancy and until I was back on my feet. Then again during my second pregnancy and while Illya was in medical school and through his residency. After that though… I moved to Minnesota so

the kids wouldn't feel like they were military brats. It's not as fun as you'd think."

"How's Nico now?"

"He's fine, he was the easy one to take care of. When we took care of Romanov, Illya was shot in the back, and well, you know Illya. The most insufferable man when he's been injured. But as you can see," April said, putting her coffee cup back onto the table, "he's better now." April spread cream cheese on her own bagel as she asked, "So what

about you? When did you go over to the dark side?"

Harvey chuckled; he remembered Illya's annoyance with the CIA when they were U.N.C.L.E. agents. "Well, after you two and Mark left things were tense in the organization. The old man refused to speak your names; I don't think Napoleon left headquarters for a year. Your sudden disappearance and Napoleon's broken leg shook things up. There were all kinds of rumors flying around. Garret and I quickly became the number one team in Section 2. After the old man died and Solo took over... well, we were the new team Solo and Kuryakin. You remember how it was, when the old man had an outside meeting, Napoleon and Illya provided security. Well, that didn't change when Solo took over. What did change was his disappearances and secrecy."

"What do you mean, disappearances and secrecy?"

"Out of the blue Napoleon would just disappear, no warning, nothing. And when he'd get back he wouldn't say where he had been or what he'd been doing."

April thought it over a moment; Napoleon would have said something to Harvey or Garret if he was planning on seeing his children. Of that she had no doubt. However, he would most likely have kept his visits with the Kuryakins secret. "I'm sorry, Harvey," she said.

"For what?"

"Napoleon was probably visiting us when he'd disappear. There were a handful of times when both Illya and I would meet Napoleon together, or one of us would meet him. The first time was when Illya decided to go to medical school and needed a new identity."

"At any rate, things just weren't the same in the organization, so I left," he shrugged. "I took some time off from working, got married and eventually joined the CIA."

"When did you get that scar?" April asked.

"This," he said, running a finger down the long scar along the right side of his face, "happened while I was still with U.N.C.L.E. The CIA is a cake walk compared to what we went through with the organization."

April laughed. "That's why only the best of the best were U.N.C.L.E. agents. No one else could survive Cutter," she smirked.

Harvey let out a deep, hearty laugh; Jules Cutter was like a pitbull, once he sank his teeth into an ankle, there was no letting go. He had one mission in life, and that was to train soldiers to take down Thrush. The old dog had once been in Section 2 himself, but after his wife and their unborn child were killed by Thrush, he'd dedicated his life

to making U.N.C.L.E. agents better than the other agencies. He was known to use live rounds in training while students crawled under gun turrets to get from one end of the field to the other.

"So tell me Harvey, what is the CIA doing working with a Petty Officer?" April asked, needing to steer the conversation to work before they get so wrapped up in catching up that both agents forget why they were at the coffee shop to begin with.

Harvey sighed, no matter what agency or organization, it was always sad seeing young men and women die. "He was helping us take care of a little house cleaning. His dad was a member of a local Aryan group that has been very vocal about their dislike of the current administration."

"Do you think they want to take over the government?"

"It's possible," he shrugged. "That's what Wright was going to find out."

"What do you have on them?"

"Not much really. Aside from knowing they don't like the current administration, we have pictures of their members and a list of names of the local chapter."

"You wouldn't happen to have that information on you, would you?" April asked giving her old friend a smile.

"Sorry, no. Come back to the office with me and I will give you a

flashdrive with everything on there."

"That sounds like a plan." April was hoping this first call as the new Interagency Liaison would be a quick one. She and Illya had stayed up late talking last night and she wanted to go home and take a nap before it was too late in the day.

The pair quickly finished their breakfast and left the coffee shop to go to the CIA headquarters.

About an hour later April Kuryakin pulled onto the Naval Yard and parked her Triumph in the first empty spot she found. She gathered her evening bag and keys before exiting the car, stopping long enough to lock her new toy up. The former U.N.C.L.E. agent held her head up high as she walked into NCIS headquarters not thinking twice about the way she was dressed. Back in the days when she was an U.N.C.L.E agent, April was used to either walking into the office while still on the clock after the sun rose, or left the office for the day some time after the sun rose for the day, still dressed in an evening gown or some other odd outfit.

April noticed the odd looks she was getting as she passed the security guard and odd personnel on her way to the elevator. She smiled to herself as she stepped onto the elevator. April punched the number for the squad room and waited as the door closed. When the elevator dinged to a stop, April stepped out as soon as the doors opened.

She walked around to Gibbs' desk, still enjoying the looks the other agents and office personnel shot her when they noticed her dress. "Jethro," she said, walking up to the team leader.

"Get anything from your old friend?"

"Not much," she said, handing him the flashdrive. "Petty Officer Wright had uncovered an Aryan group that does not like the current administration. According to Harvey, Wright's dad is a member of the group, and he doesn't know if the group plans to over throw the government. All the information he has is on that flashdrive." "McGee," Gibbs said, holding the device out towards the young agent.

Without saying a word, Timothy McGee walked over to his boss's desk and grabbed the device. He then walked back to his own desk and plugged it into his computer. After a series of keystrokes he said, "Looks like there are pictures and documents on here."

"Let's see the pictures," Gibbs said.

April had been standing beside Gibbs' desk wanting to see what was on the flash drive Harvey had given her. She watched as images of people which had taken in secret were plastered on the plasma. One by one the images appeared and the former U.N.C.L.E. agent said nothing, she simply observed. When one particular image appeared April spoke. "Stop," she called out.

The agents looked at her, confused. "What's wrong?" Gibbs asked. April was silent a moment as she studied the image before her. The man was older, somewhere between her age and that of her husband's; he was balding with grey hair and looked familiar. She forced her brain to think where she had seen this man before. Not this man

exactly, her mind said, but the man 40 years ago. "It can't be," she finally said.

"You know him?" Gibbs asked.

"As well as any agent knows an arms dealer they are trying to put away. I only know what intel we had on him 40 years ago. And that was that he was a firm believer in Hitler and his rhetoric. So much so that he planned to use a suitcase nuke to bring back the Third Reich. Call Illya, he needs to see this."

"You didn't know he was here?" Gibbs asked.

"No," April replied shaking her head. "The last time we saw him, he was captured by our backup team and hauled away. As far as we knew, he had been locked up tight. Napoleon will know what happened." April reached into her handbag and pulled her cell phone out. She placed the bag on Jethro's desk before flipping the phone open. Before

dialing her friend's number, she glanced at the time and made the mental calculations. It was late in Russia right now, she hated calling him but they had to talk to him about their case. Reluctantly she scrolled through her address book for the number to Napoleon's cell phone.

"I'm calling Napoleon now; please call Illya and tell him to come up

here," she said to Gibbs.

"Hello Napoleon, I'm sorry I'm calling so late but the team is

working on a case that just crossed paths with an old U.N.C.L.E. case;

the Booth Affair." She was silent a moment as she listened to her friend.

"You're in DC? I hate to ask but can you meet us at the Navy Yard?"

Again she was silent as she listened. "Great, we'll see you then," she said

as she snapped her phone closed.

"Napoleon will be here in a half hour," April said as Gibbs hung up

his desk phone.

"Good, Ducky will be up in a few minutes," Gibbs said. "McGee, see if you can find out who the other people are in those pictures," he added as he stood from his desk.

Without saying a word, Gibbs walked to the spare cubical next to his desk and grabbed the chair. He rolled it out from behind the desk and stopped it next to his desk. "April," he quietly said, gaining her attention.

She turned her attention away from the plasma and looked at her friend. Smiling at Gibbs, she walked to the proffered chair and sat down.

Ducky and Jimmy had left the crime scene shortly after April and Harvey left. They spared no time to get the autopsy underway. Ducky was finishing up his final examinations of the internal organs when Gibbs called down and ordered him to come up to the squad room. He wondered what was so urgent that could not wait until later. Finishing up on the last organ, Ducky relayed his findings to Palmer then instructed him to close up the body before walking to the sink. Ducky took his gloves off first; tossing them into the wastebasket, then reached around to untie his surgical gown and removed that next. Once all outer garments were off and he was left in his scrubs, Ducky thoroughly washed his hands and patted them dry.

Ducky walked into the squad room, seeing the team busily working. "Jethro, what's so important that you needed me to drop everything to come up here?"

Jethro looked at his friend, about to speak, when April interjected. "It seems our past has caught up with us, again."

"What do you mean?" Ducky asked, confused.

April turn to face her husband and said, "The Booth Affair."

Ducky thought it over a moment; funny they were just talking about it yesterday. "Aside from Angelique getting away, we finished that mission clean."

"That may be, but for some reason, Gustav is involved in this case," April said.

"What?" he asked not sure he understood his wife. "What does Gustav have to do with this case?"

"See for yourself," she said, pointing to the plasma.

McGee had been following the exchange and put the picture of Gustav back onto the plasma for Ducky to see. As Ducky turned to look at the plasma Gibbs spoke. "It seems he's part of an Aryan group that doesn't like the current government."

"He's not only part of it, but he runs the group," McGee said.

When the others turned to look at the young agent, McGee added, "Petty officer Wright gave the CIA a very thorough member list. Gustav Volhard lives in Silver Spring and is a huge supporter of Senator Robin Smith."

"What is he doing out of prison?" Ducky wondered.

"Napoleon should be here in a few minutes, he can tell us then," April said. At her husband's questioning look, she added, "He's in town on a family vacation."

Ducky felt bad that they were interrupting his friend's vacation. Napoleon had seen his children and grandchildren probably less than Illya had seen his children over the years. A part of him wondered if Napoleon was planning on calling him so they could see the

grandchildren. Ducky buried his feelings deep down, now was not the time to think about Napoleon's family; they had work to do and he needed to focus on the latest case.

"Any idea what killed the Petty Officer?" Gibbs asked while they

waited for Napoleon.

"Abby confirmed my suspicions, it was cyanide," he replied.

"Considering Hitler's fondness for the stuff, it doesn't surprise me that Gustav used it to kill Wright," April said.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here," Napoleon said, walking up to the team. "I stopped by the U.N.C.L.E. office to find out what happened with Gustav and the rest of the boys from the Booth Affair and bring copies of the reports."

"Well, don't leave us hanging," April teased.

Napoleon gave her a small smile before continuing. "Gustav spent the last few years of his incarceration at Puget Sound. He was let out 20 years ago for good behavior."

"Who would let something like that out of prison?" Ducky asked.

"Apparently they don't know Gustav as well as we do," Napoleon shrugged. "So what has that sicko done now?"

"He is the head of a local Aryan group that is not happy with the government," Gibbs supplied.

"And he killed a Petty Officer who was helping the CIA infiltrate and shut the group down," April added.

Napoleon looked at the former U.N.C.L.E. agent and noticed her attire for the first time. A slow smile crept across his lips as he realized Illya must have run to work without changing either.

Ducky noticed the smile and saw the gleam in his friend's eye and knew what he was thinking. He shot Napoleon a warning glare not to say a word, knowing how merciless Napoleon's teasing was.

Napoleon noticed the glare and held a hand up in defeat as he chuckled. Gibbs sat back and watched the old friends interact, he enjoyed seeing this other side of his old friend. A side he never knew existed prior to a few months ago.

"I thought you retired," Gibbs said to Napoleon.

"I did, but after running the organization for over 30 years, I can still get information if I need it," Napoleon said. "Are you sure Gustav killed your Petty Officer?"

"At this point we're guessing, but knowing how much Gustav

wanted to bring back the Third Reich, he wouldn't let anyone get in his

way," April replied.

"Right now he's our best lead," Gibbs said.

"We need to get someone inside that organization, it's the only way to find out what they have planned and get close to Gustav," April said.

It can't be anyone too young," Ducky added.

Gibbs looked at his friend questioningly, curious as to what he was thinking. "Why not?"

"Look at the members," Ducky said pointing to the plasma.

"Wright was the youngest person in the group. It stands to reason Gustav didn't trust him. You are the best person for the job."

The young agents paused from their work to look at their boss. Gibbs glanced at the retired U.N.C.L.E. agents thinking there was more to Ducky's suggestion than met the eyes. "McGee," he finally said, "Go help Abby search Wright's computer, see if there's anything useful on there."

"On it boss," the young agent said as he stood from his desk and walked towards the back of the office.

"Tony, Ziva, find out everything you can about Gustav, tail him if you have to."

"Yes Gibbs," Ziva answered for the both of them as the agents grabbed their backpacks and walked to the elevator.

Gibbs watched as the pair stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed. "What aren't you telling me about the Booth Affair?"

"There isn't much to say about it," Ducky shrugged.

Gibbs sat back in his chair and eyed his friend suspiciously; he didn't believe the former spy. He had a feeling the old Russian was hiding something. "Sure there is," he said, smiling. "Let's talk about it in the conference room. I'll buy the coffee."

Ducky didn't want to tell the other men about the information that the couple had left off their reports. He knew they would understand lying about who April really was, but calling her a hooker left a bad taste in his mouth. April never asked him about it the next day when they spent the day talking in his apartment. He suddenly felt he needed to

apologize to his wife for that moniker.

"I just need to use the ladies room first," April said, rising from her chair.

"I'll show you were it is," Ducky quickly interjected.

"We'll meet you in the conference room then," Gibbs said, motioning for Napoleon to follow him.

"This way," Ducky said, holding an arm out in the direction of the back hall.

April gave her husband a smile as she reached for her handbag. "April, about the last night of that mission," Ducky began, taking a deep breath before he continued. "When Angelique spotted me she asked where my partner was, not knowing you were on that assignment with me. After Gustav told her Napoleon wasn't with me, but a woman was,

Angelique asked me who that was. I told her you were a hooker. I'm sorry April; I hated calling you that but…"

"But you saved both our lives," April said, placing a hand on his cheek. Ducky smiled at his wife, "You never asked about that; why is that?"

"Because I trusted you. Although I did wonder why you called me a whore. Now I know you didn't."

"Who called you a whore?"

"Gustav did when he told us what happened after we left."

"Gustav called you a whore," Ducky seethed as he stopped outside of the restrooms.

April smiled fondly at her husband. "Illya, that was forty years ago, it's ok. Now, I'll be right back," she said, stepping into the bathroom.

A few minutes later the couple walked into the conference room. They sat across from Gibbs and Napoleon and braced themselves for Gibbs' questions.

"I read your reports but I wanna know what didn't make the report."

"There really isn't much to say," Ducky said. "When Stavros invited April to dinner, I had been in our room thinking about the mystery guests. I was convinced Thrush would send someone to bid on the nuke. During dinner, my suspicions were confirmed when Angelique walked in. She asked where my partner was, assuming Napoleon was on

the mission with me, and I told her he was screwing his wife." Ducky smirked.

"That explains a few things," Napoleon muttered.

"You see," April began to explain to Gibbs, "Illya was always a gentleman, unless he was dealing with someone he didn't like. Then he was crass."

Gibbs smiled; he liked that side of Illya.

"Gustav told Angelique Napoleon wasn't with me but a woman was. When Angelique questioned me about her, I told her the woman was a hooker." He hated telling his old friend about that, but knew Jethro would understand. At least the younger agents would never learn of that.

Gibbs could tell Ducky was still uncomfortable calling his wife a hooker. "You saved her life," he said, hoping that reminder would help ease his friend.

"He saved both our lives," April said, placing a hand on Ducky's hand.

"Angelique didn't like my answer and so she knocked me out. I woke up in the room below the manor."

April took up the story. "When I returned from my dinner with Stavros, Gustav filled us in on what happened while we were gone. He enjoyed calling me a whore a little too much. As soon as I found out what happened to Illya, I went back to my room to change and contact Mark and Napoleon. Stavros propositioned me on my way out of the

parlor but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

"You see Jethro," Ducky said, not willing to tell his friends that he and April had had sex during that mission, "There isn't much to say."

Before Gibbs had a chance to say anything, his cell phone rang. "Yeah, Gibbs," he said as he flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. He listened a moment before saying, "We'll be right there." Gibbs flipped the phone closed and gathered the file and his coffee. "Abby and McGee found something," he said, leading the others out of the room.

Napoleon followed closely but Ducky held April back, wanting to speak to her privately. "You look tired," he observed.

"I was hoping my first day at work would be short so I could take a nap."

"Well, it's still early," he said, glancing at his watch. "Why don't you go home after we find out what Abigail and Timothy found?"

"If Gibbs doesn't need me anymore, that's what I was going to do."

As the men and woman walked into 's lab, Gibbs said, "What have you got for me,

Abs?"

Without turning to face their guests, Abby said, "Our Petty Officer was really good;

he kept a journal of everything he did and what was said in the Sovereign Citizens Movement. Right down to what they had to eat and drink at the meetings."

"He would have made one hell of an U.N.C.L.E. agent," Napoleon commented.

"Yes he would," April said.

"It's going to take some time to read through it all," Abby said.

"In that case, I'm going to go home. Call me when you take Gustav down, I want to be there," April said.

"We'll both be there," Ducky said. "Abby, print the journal entries. I'll read through them, find out what Jethro will need to infiltrate the group."

"Just to be on the safe side, I'll have U.N.C.L.E. create an identity and background for Gibbs," Napoleon said.

"Why U.N.C.L.E.?" McGee asked.

"Because," Ducky smiled, "even when they are creating identities for undercover assignments, they hold up to scrutiny. Plus, Gustav will no doubt do his homework. If he found out Petty Officer Wright was working with the CIA, it's most likely that's why he killed him."

"Well, since you don't need me anymore, I'm going to get back to my vacation. I'll call the D.C. U.N.C.L.E. office and have them prepare everything you'll need," Napoleon said.

Wrapping her arm around Napoleon's, April said, "Come on, I'll walk you out."

April and Napoleon walked through the lobby of NCIS headquarters towards the front doors. "So tell me, Solo," April began.

"When were you planning on telling us you were in town?"

Napoleon smiled. "We were going to surprise you. Shannon's husband and Jason's wife can't wait to meet you."

"So, when do you want to come over for dinner?" April asked as they stepped outside of the building.

"Well, is Illya on call this weekend?"

"I'll have to check to be sure, but I don't think so."

"Good, then we'll plan for this weekend. If not, then next weekend," he smiled.

"Next weekend? Just how long is your vacation?"

"Two weeks. The twins are thinking of moving back to the States."

April stopped next to her car and said, "Do you need a ride?"

"No, that's ok. I have a rental." Napoleon gave the Triumph a good, long look and smiled. "It looks great. From the pictures Illya sent me of what it looked like when he brought it home, I wasn't sure he and Nico could pull it off."

"It was sad, wasn't it? But the boys did a great job and I love it."

"So you're enjoying your Mother's Day present?" Napoleon smiled.

"Oh, very much, thank you," April said, giving him a broad smile as she placed her sunglasses back on. She unlocked the door and easily slid behind the wheel. Turning the key in the ignition, she rolled the window down and stepped on the gas peddle a couple times, smiling up at her old friend.

Napoleon smiled appreciatively. "You look 40 years younger," he said.

"Liar," she laughed as she put the car in reverse. "We'll call you some time this week to confirm dinner."

Napoleon took a step back and waved as he watched April drive away.

A couple hours later Ducky sat at his desk in Autopsy reading the printouts Abby had brought down earlier. He took a break from his reading to stretch his legs and make a cup of tea. As he went through the motions of preparing his brew, Palmer diligently took an inventory of the supplies they had in Autopsy before he took a break for lunch.

Having finished making his tea, Ducky slowly walked back to his desk. He was almost finished reading the pages and was convinced that if the Petty Officer had lived, he would no doubt have been offered a job with the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement upon finishing his time with the Navy. Pausing briefly next to his chair, Ducky took a sip of tea before sitting down. He placed the mug on the desk within reach and went back to his reading.

When she came home from NCIS headquarters, April quickly took care of the dogs and then went upstairs to take a nap. Even with the two cups of coffee, she was still tired. She walked into the master suite and quickly slipped out of her dress and sat down on the bed. April leaned over and removed her shoes before pulling the covers aside to lie down. Not ones to miss an opportunity for a nap, the dogs joined April in the

master bedroom for a late morning nap.

An hour later April awoke feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the day. She sat up in bed smiling at the snoozing corgis; it amused her that Illya kept the dogs after Mrs. Waverly's passing. He was never much of a dog person. She always thought his fear of dogs, especially big dogs, stemmed from his childhood in war torn Russia.

When they were dating, Illya had opened up to April about his past. She knew things about him that Napoleon didn't even know. April often thought if only she could go back in time and give the frightened little Illya a big hug and tell him everything would be all right. But she couldn't, and after Illya had lost his sister, his only remaining family

after his parents were killed, he had spent many nights curled up in his bed in the orphanage, scared.

Deciding she needed a shower to jumpstart her afternoon, April walked to the bathroom for a quick rinse, stopping briefly to quickly give each dog a scratch in their favorite spot.

Abby sat at the desk in her office waiting for her troops to report back to her with their results for the cases she was working for the other NCIS teams in the office. She was on her cell phone, talking to April. "So, how was the symphony last night?"

"Why don't you just ask Illya?" April asked as she enjoyed a sandwich for lunch.

"Because he was the one that took you out last night."

April smiled at the young woman, even though Abby couldn't see the smile. "It was very nice, thank you. So what did you and Nico do last night?"

"What makes you think we did anything last night?" Abby innocently asked.

"Because you weren't the least bit surprised to see me standing in your lab wearing my black dress. Besides, I figured Nico would have called you instead of staying home alone."

Abby smiled at her new friend's words; she really liked April. "We went out to see a movie," she said.

"So what did you see? Was it good?"

"Why? Are you looking for something to watch with Ducky?" Abby joked. "It was terrible! Not worth wasting your time on."

"That bad?"

"We made fun of the movie, until they kicked us out."

"You were kicked out? I'm starting to think you're a bad influence on Nico," April teased.

Abby truly enjoyed the time she spent with April. Spotting the awaiting agents in her lab, Abby frowned and regretfully said, "I need to get back to work."

"I'll talk to you later then," April said, getting off the phone.

Ducky walked into the squad room with a purpose; he needed to tell Gibbs what the Petty Officer had written about. "Jethro," he said upon seeing the team leader at his desk.

Gibbs looked up from his computer and said, "So what did Wright say

about Volhard?"

"Plenty," Ducky began as he pulled a nearby chair up to Gibbs' desk. "Gustav Volhard hasn't changed much in 40 years, he still doesn't trust anyone. He has a network of people watching the members of the Sovereign Citizens Movement, just like he did during the Booth Affair. Wight suspected Volhard was going to take over the government. He was hoping to confirm his suspicions at their next meeting. Petty Officer Wright did say he checked the Sovereign Citizens Movement offices. He

suspected Volhard might use force to overthrow the government."

"What kind of force?" Gibbs asked.

"Knowing Gustav, it could be anything. Remember, he was going to use a suitcase nuke to bring back the Third Reich."

"Did Wright find anything?"

"No, he believed Volhard was suspicious of him and he wasn't able to thoroughly search the offices."

"Then I guess I have my work cut out for me," Gibbs said as he picked up the receiver of his desk phone and dialed the number to Tony's cell. "Tony, I want you and Ziva to go back to Wright's house and search it."

"What are we looking for boss?" Tony asked, turning to look at Ziva in the passenger seat.

"Bugs."

"You thinking Volhard bugged Wright's house?" Ziva's ears perked up at the question. It wouldn't surprise her in the least to find listening or even video devices in the Petty Officer's house.

"From what Ducky's said about Volhard, yeah."

"On it boss."

"Get anything useful on Volhard?"

"Not much, so far he's spent his day meeting with people. We have pictures for Abby to work on."

"Good," Gibbs said before hanging up the phone. Gibbs looked at

his friend thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Ducky asked.

"Just wondering why you think I'm the only one that can go under cover."

"Ziva is out of the question. McGee has no experience, and Tony doesn't have enough experience. He knows April and me… You are the only person that can do this."

"Agent Gibbs?" a young African American woman asked, walking up to the men.

Gibbs and Ducky turned to face the visitor. "And you are…" Gibbs asked.

"Jessica Carter, U.N.C.L.E. I have your packet," she replied, handing the older man a manila envelope.

Gibbs took the proffered package and opened it. He looked at the flashdrive a moment before tossing it to the side. Next he flipped through the file, skimming over the contents.

"You should familiarize yourself with the information on the flashdrive. Section 8 set up a blog for you. They suggest you read all the entries in case you are asked about it. They will maintain the blog until your case is closed, so you should keep up with the entries just to be safe."

Gibbs looked up at the U.N.C.L.E. agent confused and impressed with the amount of work they put into his cover identity. "I told you they were thorough," Ducky said, amused.

"I need to get back. If you need anything else, Mr. Solo asked that we give you our full cooperation," Jessica said. "Agent Gibbs, Mr. Kuryakin," she nodded as she turned to leave.

Ducky rose from the chair and stood in front of Gibbs' desk. "I'll let you get started on studying your new ID." He moved the chair back to the desk next to Gibbs' and paused. The former U.N.C.L.E. agent turned back to his friend and said, "Jethro, be very careful around Gustav. Don't let his age fool you. He is an extremely dangerous man. If he

suspects you're not who you say you are, he won't hesitate to kill you. Like he, no doubt, killed Petty Officer Wright."

Gibbs looked up at his old friend; the man had been through a lot since November. Ducky had not only lost his daughter, but her unborn baby as well. On top of that, he'd found out about the baby after her death. As if the death of his daughter wasn't enough, Ducky had nearly lost his son to a poison imagined by the same madman that sent the

man behind the mask of Ducky into hiding. Illya and April had been forced to disappear no less than 48 hours after learning they were expecting their first child.

As much as he had wanted to stay with his family, be there for his children as they grew up, Illya had known they were safer if he and April hid separately. He'd hated leaving them, knowing all too well what it was like growing up without parents. But he had reminded himself that not only were they safe, but that they at least had April. He would visit when he could, but staying for any length of time wasn't an option especially

after he'd decided to become a medical examiner.

"I'll be careful, Duck," Gibbs said.

Ducky nodded and turned to go back to Autopsy.

April was in the kitchen perusing the items in the refrigerator and pantry, wondering what to make for dinner, when the doorbell rang. The dogs rushed to greet the visitor while April casually walked to the door. Not expecting anyone, she wondered who had come calling. April pulled the curtain aside to find two familiar faces staring back at her. Smiling broadly, April threw the door open and happily greeted her guests.

"Galina, Yuri, it's so good to see you!" she said in Russian.

"April, it's good to see you too," Galina also said in Russian, throwing her arms around April. The women hugged each other tightly; it had been close to 40 years since they had seen each other. When the hug ended, Galina walked into the elegant foyer, wiping tears from her eyes and Yuri stepped inside, placing a bag on the floor

before pulling April into a tight hug.

The corgis watched on, waiting for the humans to stop acting so weird. When April had opened the door to throw her arms around the other woman, they had backed away from the door. Only brave Tyson had stayed close to keep guard.

When the hug ended, April closed the door and ushered the guests inside. "Come in, come in. What are you going in D.C.?" April asked, never switching back to English. She led the couple into the lounge. Galina was the epitome of what you'd imagine if someone were to say 'Russian grandmother'. She was average height, plump and strong as an ox. The babushka was not a city girl; she and her husband still had the farm they bought after they married. Just like any farmer, she still worked hard every day, not letting her advanced age slow her down. She wore her silver hair short to keep away from her face while feeding the chicken.

Yuri was bigger than his wife, and had rough, callused workman's hands. He stood a head taller than his lovely wife and had a full head of gray hair.

"Now that Romanov is dead, we wanted to surprise you," Galina replied as she and Yuri sat down on the couch closest to the window.

"Funny, Illya and I were just talking about visiting you. Illya wants to show Nico where he grew up," April said, standing next to the opposite couch. Remembering her manners, April asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

"If it's not too much trouble, coffee," Yuri replied.

"It's not trouble at all. Galina?"

"Coffee sounds good," she smiled.

"Two coffees it is then." Noticing her old friends glancing at the dogs, April said, pointing at each one in turn and said, "These fur balls are Ducky, Tyson, Contessa, Pooper and Sophia." She squatted down and picked Ducky up. "Ducky was Anya's. The poor thing became attached to me after Mark brought him here. That's all right though, he's my favorite." She smiled, giving the corgi a hug. "He likes to cuddle, even if he does shed. He keeps me company while the boys are working," April said as she placed the dog on the floor and turned to go to the kitchen. "Oh," she said, remembering something. "Watch out forTyson, he bites."

As April set about brewing a fresh pot of coffee, she pulled out her cell phone and called her husband. Good afternoon my love, were you able to take a nap?"

"Yes I did, the dogs even joined me."

"That sounds nice," Ducky smiled.

"It was nice. Now tell me, darling, will you be home for dinner?"

"I think so. Why, what did you have in mind?"

April smiled mischievously, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Really?"

"Mm hmm, so the sooner you get home, the sooner you find out what I have planned."

"Well then, since you put it that way. I'll do my best to be home for dinner."

"At a reasonable hour," April reminded him, not wanting to make their guests wait several hours for dinner.

"I'll see you at six," he said.

"Six is good." She smiled as she set a tray out, preparing to load it for their friends. The couple said their goodbyes and April put the phone back in her jean's pocket and loaded the tray with cups, saucers, and a variety of other things needed for a late afternoon cup of coffee.

Walking back into the lounge, April found Yuri and Galina standing by the fireplace, looking at the pictures on the mantle. The clinking sound from the tray being placed on the coffee table alerted the couple that their host had returned. "Bunny was a beautiful woman, April. We were saddened to hear what happened to her," Yuri said as

they turned to walk back to the couch.

April smiled at the endearment; Yuri began affectionately calling Anya 'Bunny' when she was a couple months old. Not feeling comfortable moving out right away, April had stayed with the couple until Anya was one. It had taken a while to decide where to go, but once she had decided, April had set about making plans to move to Canada.

"Thank you," April murmured as she handed the couple their drinks. "We miss her terribly. Did Napoleon tell you she was pregnant?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch opposite her friends with her own coffee in hand.

"Yes. How terrible it was to lose her husband. Then finding out about the baby, and then to be killed… I don't know how you do it," Galina shook her head.

"It's not easy. We take it one day at a time. Christmas was the worst; it was hard being here with Illya, Nico and my sister's family without Anya. I just wish Illya was able to spend time with Anya now that we're free." April sighed as she took a sip of her coffee. Ducky jumped up onto the couch and rested his head on her lap. "I try not to dwell on it," she said, placing the cup back onto the saucer. Deciding it was time to talk about more pleasant things, April changed the subject.

"So, how long are you in town for?"

"Two weeks," Galina replied. "Why not?" she shrugged. "Now that everyone is safe, we might as well enjoy ourselves."

"Good, then you can keep me company while the boys are working. That is, when I'm not working myself."

"We heard you were working with Illya," Yuri said.

"Well, only part time and when they need me. I really won't see him much."

The old friends continued to get caught up with each other. A couple hours later April heard the front door open, and the dogs scurried to greet their visitor. When the door closed and the dogs remained, April knew it was Nico home from work. "Nico," she called out.

"Yes mom," he said in English.

"Come into the lounge please, I want to introduce you to some friends," she said in Russian.

Following his mother's lead, Nico switched to Russian and said, "I'd better not."

"Why not?" she asked, getting up from her seat on the couch and walking to the foyer.

"Because I had a long and… smelly day," he replied in English.

April stopped short of her son, not wanting to get any closer due to the smell. "What happened?"

Nico stood in the foyer dressed in green scrubs with a variety of stains on them. "Let's just say I was reliving my med school days."

Seeing the way his mother was looking at his attire, Nico added, "And I've changed a few times at work."

April looked at her son's appearance and didn't want to know what the various stains were. She just wanted to see her son cleaned up and smelling better. "Go take a shower," she said, ushering him up the stairs. "And burn those scrubs. I'd rather not put them in the washing machine."

"With pleasure," he said, parting ways.

April walked back into the lounge, worried Nico's car would be infested with that smell. She made a mental note to remind him to sprinkle baking soda in the car to absorb the odor, when he came back downstairs.

"Is something wrong?" Galina asked, as April sat back down.

"No, nothing wrong. Nico just needs to take a shower before doing anything else," she smiled.

A few minutes later, Nico strolled into the lounge to join his mother and her guests. "Hi mom," he said, leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Hello sweetheart, you smell better. Nico, this is Galina and Yuri," she said in Russian.

Nickolai Kuryakin turned to face the older couple. They stood as he walked toward them. Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion over seeing the couple that helped save his parents, Nico threw his arms around Galina. "It's good to meet you," he murmured.

Returning his hug, Galina smiled, "Hello to you too." When the hug ended, Nico pulled back and Galina placed her hands on his cheeks. "He looks just like his father."

"And he has that man's appetite too!" April said.

Yuri stepped up to the young Kuryakin and picked him up in a big bear hug, lifting the smaller man off the floor. April watched on, amused; she could just imagine the look on her son's face. He wasn't used to being lifted off the ground by anyone, much less a big strapping man.

When the hug ended, Yuri smacked Nico hard on the back, knocking the slight man off balance. "Send him to the farm, we'll toughen him up," the old Russian said.

Rising from the couch, April chuckled as she walked to her son's rescue. "He's not that bad, Yuri," April said, placing her hands on his shoulders and guided him back to the other couch. "He helped Illya rebuild a car for me, and they're going to work on one for Nico."Impressed, Yuri said, "Is that so?"

"Yes," Nico replied, proud of himself. "I even helped Dad rebuild his Morgan."

"A fine vehicle," Yuri nodded with appreciation.

"His Russian is very good," Galina commented.

"Thank you," April said. "Illya once said he wanted the children to know Russian and be able to speak it like a native. Even if they didn't know any other languages that he and I spoke, at least they knew their heritage." Turning to walk back to the other couch, April added,

"Sometimes I wondered if he was afraid we might have to hide the children in Russia for good."

Ducky sat at his desk as he finished reading a file. Jimmy Palmer was busy cleaning the utensils from their last autopsy. Not wanting to be late for dinner, he kept a close eye on the time. Seeing it was time to leave, Ducky closed the file and slid it over to the side of the desk as he pushed his chair back. "Mr. Palmer," he said, standing from the chair,

"When you're finished with that, go home. No reason to stay late when we're slow.

"Yes, Doctor Mallard."

Gibbs was at his desk, reading through the packet the U.N.C.L.E. courier had dropped off earlier. Ducky strolled up to his friend, on his way home. "Still reading the file?" Ducky said.

Gibbs looked up from his monitor, grateful for the break. "You weren't kidding; they are thorough."

Ducky chuckled. "You should have seen the one they created for April and me for the Booth Affair."

"I can imagine," Jethro said, smiling. "Leaving early, Duck?"

"April called earlier. She wants me home for dinner."

"Oh?"

"Yes, she didn't say what she has planned though."

Deciding to take a break and get a sandwich, Gibbs stood and said, "I'll walk you out."

As promised, Ducky walked into the door of the Mallard house at 6:00. "April," he called out as he hung his coat and hat on the coat rack in the elegant foyer.

"In the lounge," she replied.

Ducky turned around and walked toward the lounge. He wondered why the doors were partially closed. Walking in, he was surprised to see the older couple on the couch. "Galina, Yuri," he said, giving the couple a big smile.

"Illya," Galina said, throwing her arms around her old friend when he stood in front of her.

When the hug ended, Yuri picked Illya up into a bear hug. Once his feet were back on the floor, Illya braced himself for what he knew was next. Not one to change, Yuri slapped Illya hard on the back. "You look good for an old man, if not a little soft," Yuri joked.

Illya laughed at his old friend;, it was good to see both of them. "Is this why you called earlier?" he asked his wife, in Russian.

Smiling, she simply said, "Guilty."

Illya turned back to their guests and said, "What brings you to DC?" as he joined them on the couch closest to the window.

"Napoleon told us what happened. We thought it was a good time to see America," Yuri said.

"And to you see of course," Galina added.

"We were just talking about taking a trip to Russia," Illya said.

"Yes, April told us," Galina smiled.

"Did she now? Did she tell you what she had planned for dinner?"

Shaking her head, April said, "Always thinking with your stomach." Yuri and Galina burst into a fit of laughter; how they missed their

old friends.

"We're going out to eat," April said. "And to answer your next question," she said standing from the couch and walking to sit next to her husband. April snaked an arm around Illya, saying, "We'll go in a little while."

Illya gave his wife a loving smile; he knew she wanted to let him rest for a bit before they went out. "Are you coming too, Nico?" he said, turning to face his son.

"No, I have plans with Uncle Napoleon."

"How do you have plans with Napoleon when your phone hasn't rung the entire time you've been home?" April questioned. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "Just how long have you known that Napoleon was in town?"

Nico smiled innocently as he scrambled to think of an answer that wasn't the truth. The truth being that Napoleon had emailed him a couple weeks ago, telling the younger Kuryakin of his upcoming trip, wanting to surprise April and Illya. Deciding he was safer avoiding the question all together, Nico stood from the couch and said, "I'm going to

get a glass of water, does anyone want anything while I'm up? No? OK," and quickly walked out of the room.

"Remind me to interrogate that boy when we get back," April said, glaring at the retreating figure of her son.

Illya chuckled, "Have you thought about where you want to eat?"

"We were thinking Italian," April said.

"That sounds good."

Later that night the two couples sat in the restaurant, enjoying each other's company, telling stories over dessert and coffee. The group laughed as Illya relayed a story of the children from when he was in medical school. "I came home and there was Nico quietly sitting on the floor of the living room, just waiting for me. I locked the door and picked

him up, carrying him to our bedroom," Illya swept his hand between himself and April. "And said, 'lose something'?"

"When I saw Nico, I could have killed him. The only thing saving that boy was Illya. It was bad enough that he had gotten into everything all day. I thought I could finally relax once I put him to bed," April said.

Picking up the story, Illya continued, "One look at April and I knew Nico was safer with me."

Galina and Yuri laughed so hard, they were wiping tears from their eyes.

"I took Nico to his room and rocked him to sleep. I waited until he was sound asleep before I put him back into his crib," Illya said.

"How did he get out of the crib?" Galina asked.

"He's just like his dad; he escaped," April replied.

Back at the Mallard house, Nico was in the kitchen, waiting for Napoleon to pick him up for dinner. The blonde was at the back door, trying to get the dogs to come in. "Tyson, come on, inside," he said. At the sound of the dog's growling he said, "It's just a squirrel, leave it and come inside"

Tyson took a few steps closer to the door, still looking in the direction of the side of the house. "Come on Tyson, I'm not going to leave you outside when I leave." Sighing at the corgi's stubbornness, Nico walked back into the house, deciding to try again in a few minutes. Nico began to walk towards the front door to see if his dinner partner had

arrived. When he heard Tyson barking, the younger Kuryakin ran back to the back door to find a man struggling to shake Tyson off his leg. Tyson had clamped his teeth around the intruder's ankle and held on tightly, growling.

Nico was shocked, he stood motionless, not knowing what to do. Somewhere in the recess of his mind, he registered the sound of knocking. Still, he couldn't move.

Napoleon had knocked on the door several times. He grew concerned when Nico didn't answer the door. Hearing the dogs bark, Napoleon knew something was wrong. He

tried the doorknob but it was locked. He looked around trying to figure out a way of opening the elegant glass inlayed door without damaging it. On a hunch, he felt the

collar of his shirt and felt something familiar. He quickly removed the lock pick and made quick work of the lock. Moving as fast as he could, Napoleon walked to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, Napoleon saw Nico frozen in place while what he had no doubt was a bugler tried to remove the furry extra appendage from his leg. "Tyson, vypusk," Napoleon barked. Hearing the command, Tyson released his prisoner, staying close and growling at the intruder.

"Nico, are you all right?" Napoleon asked, placing a hand on his young friend's shoulder.

Finally coming out of his haze, Nico said, "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine."

"Good ," Napoleon said. Fixing the intruder with a death glare, he told Nico to close the door as he aimed his cane in a threatening manner.

"I wouldn't even blink if I were you," Napoleon said in a menacing tone. Pulling out his cell phone, Napoleon began to dial.

"Are you calling mom and dad?" Nico inquired.

"No, someone else. I don't want to ruin their night." When the person Napoleon had called answered their phone, Napoleon said, "It's Napoleon, I need you to come to Illya's house. Someone tried to break in. No, no one was hurt." Snapping his phone closed, Napoleon put it back into his pocket.

"Who did you call?" Nico asked.

"Gibbs. He'll be here in a few minutes."

"Oh," Nico said.

A few minutes later Gibbs pulled to a stop in front of the house. His concern grew when he spotted the open front door. Taking his gun in hand, Gibbs ran through the door, calling out for his friends. "In the kitchen," Napoleon called out.

Gibbs walked into the kitchen, still holding his gun. Upon entering, he found Nico bent down, wrapping the intruder's leg. He holstered his gun and asked Napoleon what Nico was doing. Napoleon explained that Tyson had sniffed out the intruder and attacked him when the man tried to advance on the back door. "Illya trained Tyson to guard them."

"So that's why he warned me that Tyson bites," Gibbs chuckled.

He knelt down to pet Tyson. "Good boy," he said.

Tyson happily wagged his little tail, enjoying the adulations bestowed upon him.

When Nico said he was finished with his patient, Gibbs stood and walked to the burglar, slapping a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists. The NCIS agent read the burglar his rights as he led him out of the room. Nico quickly cleaned up the kitchen, not wanting to leave any traces of what had transpired for his parents to find when they came home later that night. When he finished, he joined the other men in front of the house.

Gibbs kept a close eye on the young Kuryakin, and saw how shaken Nico was. With the intruder safely locked in the backseat of his car, while Napoleon kept watch, Jethro stepped up to Nico and said, "You OK?"

Nico took in a deep, shaky breath and said, "Yeah." Feeling the need to say more, Nico said, "Mom taught both Anya and me self-defense. Seeing that guy trying to shake Tyson off... I don't know, I just froze." He shrugged.

"That's ok. It can be scary the first time you're put in a situation to use those skills. If you want, I can spar with you whenever you want." Nico thought it over a moment; maybe it would help to spar with

someone. "Yeah, that sounds good," he finally said. "Good," Gibbs nodded. "Just call when you're ready."

"Thanks."

"Come on," Napoleon said as Gibbs pulled out of the driveway.

"Let's get out of here."

Later that night at the Mallard house, the group sat in the lounge. Now that Nico was home, Yuri went into the foyer to grab the bag he placed by the door earlier. He walked back into the lounge and Illya asked about the bag. "We brought you a little something," Yuri said.

"You didn't have to do that," April waved.

Yuri dug into the shopping bag and pulled out a box. He handed the box to April and said, "I think you won't say that after you see what it is."

April opened the box and stared at the contents. Unable to say anything, she gently pulled it out and held it in her hands as if it were a priceless antique. "Yuri," she whispered. "Thank you."

Illya couldn't believe his eyes. The last time he had seen the Matryoshka doll was when he left the farm. He once asked April about the colorful doll and she informed him that she felt it would be safer if she left it with the couple, instead of carrying it all over the world. "My father," he began to explain to Nico, but was quickly overcome by his

emotions. Clearing his throat, he continued, "My father gave this to my sister for her birthday. The last one before he and my mother died."

"This was Aunt Anya's?" Nico asked, never taking his eyes off the colorful, wooden toy. He often wondered about his father's family, but didn't want to stir up any bad memories his father may have had.

"Yes," Illya replied. "She treasured that doll." Illya picked up the doll and held it in his hands as he explained further. "After she died, I kept the doll. No matter where I was, the doll stayed with me."

April snaked an arm around Illya and continued the story. "When we were dating, your father gave it to me for my birthday. I couldn't leave this behind when we went into hiding. When I left Russia, I asked Galina and Yuri to keep it, and to send it to us the day we could finally stop hiding."

Nico watched as Illya opened the doll, gently taking each doll apart, and placing the two halves on the table. When he reached the final piece, he took the tiny figurine out and placed it on the table.

Afterward, he set about reconnecting the halves, placing them next to the others, by height. Illya sat back and swept his eyes across the colorful wooden figurines, letting the memories of his little sister and parents flood back.

April rubbed Illya's back comfortingly; she knew how much it meant to see that doll again. When she'd been pregnant with Anya, Illya had asked that they name the baby after his sister, if it was a girl. It was April's plan to give their daughter the doll when she could appreciate it. That is, when they came out of hiding. If they ever did.

Giving them some time, Galina and Yuri quietly granted their friend a few minutes before pulling out another medium sized box from the bag. "Really, you didn't have to bring us anything," Illya said.

"Consider this a late house warming gift," Galina smiled.

Illya removed the lid and peered inside the box; he smiled when he saw the doll inside. "We couldn't resist," Galina grinned.

Illya pulled the multi-colored doll out of the box and placed it on the table, next to the other one. "Thank you," he said, smiling.

"You're welcome," Galina said, returning his smile.

The group continued to talk for another hour before Yuri and Galina decided to let their friends get some rest. The Kuryakins insisted on driving the couple back to their hotel, but they refused. Instead they called for a cab.

In the days that followed, Gibbs worked hard at trying to infiltrate the Sovereign Citizens Movement. It took some time, but he was able to find a way in. Gibbs had befriended the group's treasurer, Marshall Jackson. Volhard was suspicious of Gibbs the first time they met, but after a little digging, Volhard found that Gibbs was who he said he was; Darrel Thompson. Once Gibbs had established himself, he began to dig around

the offices, carefully looking to see if there were any weapons hidden. Not finding anything in the offices, Gibbs was about to look for hidden rooms when he heard noises in the other room. He ran into the closest office and closed the door, leaving it open a crack to listen to the men.

"Do you think Volhard has the balls to pull this off?" came the voice of one of Volhard's bodyguards.

"He killed that Petty Officer, yeah he'll do it," another bodyguard replied.

"There are days when I think Volhard is a few fries short of a happy meal."

"What was your first clue?"

"That story he was telling us about buying a suitcase nuke to bring back the Third Reich, until he was caught and thrown in jail."

Gibbs listened as the men spoke and thought the bodyguards might be useful after all. He briefly contemplated approaching the men to help him bring down Volhard, but decided to befriend them first. With his plan decided, Gibbs waited until the men left before sneaking out of the office and leaving to confer with Tony and Ziva.

Back at the Navy Yard, McGee, Tony, Ziva and Gibbs poured over the information the team had gathered on Volhard and his bodyguards during their surveillance. "He has three sets of bodyguards," Tony said, clicking the remote for the plasma, causing pictures to appear on the TV. "Vince and Joey here," he motioned with the remote, "are the transportation crew. Mike and Steve here," he said pointing to the next set of pictures, "are the guys that are with him when he's home. And finally that brings us to these two," Tony said, pointing to men Gibbs had seen at the Sovereign Citizens Movement's offices. "'Glen and Alan. They're with Volhard whenever he's at the Sovereign Citizens Movement offices."

"What about when Volhard is at meetings with people outside the office?"

"The only bodyguards he has are Vince and Joey, and they stay with the car," Ziva replied.

Gibbs stared at the pictures of Glen and Al, contemplating the conversation he'd overheard that afternoon. His gut told him Volhard had armaments hidden some place. "We need to get Al and Glen, they are the key to taking Volhard down."

"Why do you say that, boss?" Tony asked.

"Because I overheard them talking about Volhard. They're starting to regret signing up with him."

"That's great," Tony said.

"Tony, Ziva, bring them in. Quietly. I don't want Volhard to know."

"On it, boss," Tony said, as he and Ziva turned to leave for the elevator.

"McGee, find out anything you can about those two. I wanna know everything about them.

"Yes, boss," Timothy McGee said, as his fingers flew across his keyboard.

Glen and Allen sat in an interrogation room as Tony leaned against the wall, waiting for Gibbs to join them. "Look, you can't arrest us;, we haven't done anything," Glen said.

"Who said anything about arresting you?" Tony said. "We just want to have a little chat."

"About what?" Al wondered.

"You'll have to ask my boss that."

"Yea? Well, where is he?" As soon as the words left his mouth, the door opened, as Gibbs stepped into the room.

"Looks like you won't have to wait any longer," Tony said.

The men watched as Gibbs walked to the table and sat across from them, with his back to the large mirror. "Darrel, what are you doing here?" Al asked, surprised to see the newest member of the Sovereign Citizens Movement.

"I won't waste your time. I know Volhard has weapons hidden some place. I also know he killed Petty Officer Wright. And I know you're wondering if it's safe working with Volhard."

"How do you know that?" Al asked, starting to feel nervous. Gibbs shrugged at the question, "I overheard you two talking."

Glen swallowed hard; he was really starting to wish he'd never gotten involved with the Sovereign Citizens Movement. He knew Volhard kept a tight rein on people, even his own bodyguards. "When?" came his almost strangled question.

"That's not important. Volhard is the one I'm after;, you can help me put him behind bars for the rest of his life."

"How?"

"Tell me where his weapons are and exactly what you know about Volhard killing Wright."

The bodyguards looked at each other, both wondering if they could tell Gibbs what they knew without being killed by Volhard for betraying him. "How do we know Volhard won't find out we talked to you?" Al asked.

"You have my word," Gibbs replied.

"We have the word of a factory worker," Glen asked, confused.

"You have the word of an NCIS Special Agent," Gibbs replied.

The men looked at him confused; they'd seen the background check Volhard had run on Gibbs, and it came back just as it was intended to. Darrel Thompson, factory worker that lives in Arlington, Virginia. "You see," Tony said, pushing himself away from the wall and walking to the other side of the mirror, "His name is really Special Agent Jethro Gibbs."

Al sat back in his chair; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Darrel Thompson wasn't who he'd said he was, but in reality he was an undercover NCIS agent.

"How do we know Volhard won't find out we talked?" Glen asked again, afraid the crazed German would kill them.

"He'll never find out," Gibbs replied, leaning back in his chair. Sensing their need to give his offer some thought, Gibbs stood from his chair and said, "You have five minutes to decide; after that, I charge you with being an accessory to murder." Not waiting for an answer, Gibbs left the interrogation room with Tony close behind.

"You really think they'll tell you where the weapons are boss?"

Tony asked as they walked into the observation room where McGee, Ziva and Ducky were watching their guests.

"They're family men Tony, they'll do whatever it takes to stay out of jail," Ducky answered for their boss. "Even if it means betraying the man they've recently aligned themselves to."

Gibbs stood to the side, keeping a close eye on his guests as the team idly chatted while they waited. He knew the men weren't involved in the death of the Petty Officer which is why he put both men in an interrogation room together, which was something Leroy Jethro Gibbs would never normally do. Seeing they were ready to talk, he quietly

turned to join his guests in the other room.

"We'll tell you everything you want to know," Al said, speaking for the pair.

"Where are the weapons?" Gibbs asked, never bothering to sit down.

Taking a deep breath, Al continued, "He's using the office next door to store the weapons."

"What kind of weapons does he have?"

Al shrugged, "We don't know. We've seen the crates, but haven't looked in them."

"What about Wright?"

"Volhard killed him. He keeps cyanide in a locked drawer in his

desk. I saw Volhard slip some in Wright's drink. After he finished his drink, Volhard had Joe take Wright home."

"Wright died at four in the morning; what were you doing at the office at that hour?"

"Volhard kept Wright after the meeting to talk to him. He had me stick around along with Vance and Joe."

"What did they talk about?"

"Volhard told Wright all about Hitler and the Third Reich. When he was done with the history lesson, Volhard gave Wright the spiked drink."

"Did Volhard tell you when he was planning on overthrowing the government?"

"No, he hasn't set a date yet," Glen supplied.

Deciding he was finished with the men, Gibbs said, "You can go now," as he walked towards the door.

"Agent Gibbs," Al said, gaining the NCIS agent's attention. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Act like nothing happened," Gibbs shrugged as he walked out the door.

The team walked out of the observation room and joined Gibbs in the hall, waiting for their next move. "Tony, Ziva, take these two back home. Duck, go home. We'll meet in the morning." Gibbs watched as Timothy McGee left to go home, and Tony and Ziva walked their guests out. "Hey Duck," he quietly said, gaining the Medical Examiner's attention.

"Jethro, am I to assume you will be arresting Volhard tomorrow?"

Gibbs smiled, his friend knew him well. "Yeah, bring April."

"Will do," Ducky said, parting ways for the night. About a half hour later, Ducky walked into the house in Reston, tired from the long day at work. After locking the door, he shed his raincoat and hat before making his way up to the master suite. April sat in bed with pillows propping her up, wearing her pajamas as she read a book. "There you are, darling," April said, seeing her husband walk into their bedroom.

"Sorry I'm late, my love," Illya said as he walked to the bed and wearily sank down. "Jethro brought two of Volhard's men in for questioning," he said reaching down to remove his shoes.

Intrigued, April placed a page marker into the book and closed it, setting it on the nightstand. She moved to her husband and began massaging his shoulders. "Really? Does this mean what I think it does?"

Illya had taken his glasses off as soon as he'd felt his wife's hands on his shoulders. He let his head hang down as her hands kneaded his tired muscles. "Yes," he replied. "He told me to bring you in tomorrow."

"Did he now?" she smiled, never stopping her ministrations.

"Mm hmm. Oh, and leave your gun home tomorrow," he said, getting sleepy.

She playfully pouted and said, "You're no fun." Leaning down, April placed a kiss on her husband's neck and said, "Why don't you change before you fall asleep where you are sitting?" She stopped massaging his shoulders and scooted back to the other side of the bed, adjusting the pillows as she set about making herself comfortable to go

to sleep.

A few short moments later, Illya pulled the covers aside and crawled into bed. Once he was settled, April snuggled up to him. "Illya," she quietly said, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes," he wearily said.

"If I can't take my gun tomorrow that means you have to leave yours home too."

"Killjoy," he pouted.

April smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, April sat in the squad room of NCIS headquarters, waiting for Gibbs and his team to get the necessary paperwork in order to seize Volhard's munitions. In addition, they would arrest the mad man for killing Petty Officer Wright. With warrant in hand, Gibbs and his team geared up and headed for the elevators. "Jethro," April said,

gaining her colleague's attention.

"Yeah?"

"I have an idea for going in to take Volhard," she said, her eyes twinkling.

Gibbs saw the twinkle in his friend's eye and smiled, "And what's that?"

April smirked just as the elevator dinged upon reaching the first floor.

A few minutes later, April brought her Triumph to a stop in front of the Sovereign Citizens Movement offices. She and Illya crawled out of the automobile and made their way inside the office. They stopped inside and looked around, letting their eyes scan over all the Nazi paraphernalia that adorned the walls. The couple wanted to give their

friends a few minutes to get into position, before making their next move. Spotting Tony through the front window, April turned around and asked the first person she saw to speak with Volhard. With a polite smile, the woman turned to find the group's leader.

In no time at all, Gustav Volhard walked up to the couple, smiling at the consideration of new members. "Good morning," the German said, gaining their attention. "I see you are interested in joining our group?"

April and Illya smiled to themselves as they turned around and smiled at the old German. "Don't tell me you don't remember us, Gustav," April said.

Gustav squinted at the couple. Tony and Gibbs walked in through the front door, standing behind the older couple. "Well, technically we're with NCIS now," April said.

"Which brings us to the reason why we're here."

Gibbs stepped forward and yanked the German's arms behind his back, roughly slapping on a pair of handcuffs. "Gustav Volhard, say hello to Special Agent Jethro Gibbs," Tony supplied. "He's here to arrest you for the murder of Petty Officer Wright and the possession of illegal weapons." Tony went on to read Volhard his rights, while April and Illya watched on, happy to see the old Nazi fanatic being taken away to spend

the rest of his life in prison.

As the agents stood in the front office, arresting Volhard, several members of the Sovereign Citizens Movement had gathered to see what was going on. There were murmurs throughout the crowd when they heard Tony say Gustav had killed Petty Officer Wright. "Where's Joey Glass?" Tony asked the crowd of onlookers. Someone pointed to a back office, saying the bodyguard was lounging there. Tony thanked the man and made his way to the back, to arrest the bodyguard.

Ziva had walked into the office to see how things were going; knowing McGee was doing fine overseeing the collection of the munitions in the office next door. "Ziva, get them out of here," Gibbs said, nodding towards the crowd.

"Yes, Gibbs," she said as she ushered the group towards the back of the office so they could leave through the back door.

Once the group was out of the room, Illya stepped forward and backhanded Volhard hard across the face. "That was for calling my wife a whore," he growled in a low, menacing tone.

Tony walked back to the front office with Joey in handcuffs and led the prisoner to the car. When Ziva joined the others in the front office, Gibbs sent her to help McGee finish up in the next office. Gibbs clamped a hand down on Volhard's shoulder, giving it a vice-like squeeze. "You're going to spend the rest of your miserable days behind bars."

As Gibbs led the Nazi fanatic out to his car, April turned to Illya and said, "That was fun."

"Yes, it was." He gave her a small smile.

"Come on, I'll drive you back to work. I have a lot to do before

tomorrow."

After a quick stop at the Navy Yard to drop her husband off at work, April took care of some errands for dinner with Napoleon and his family the next day.

The next day,, the Mallard house was a flurry of activity. April and llya were busy cooking up a storm, making enough food to feed the Russian army. Before going to work the previous day, Nico had helped April clean the house before leaving for a late night shift at the hospital. April and Illya had barely slowed down by the time their guests

arrived. Nico had taken a nap after coming home from work, wanting to feel awake and refreshed for their company.

Once Napoleon and the others arrived, April and Illya finally sat down to catch their collective breaths and visit with their friends. While the adults sat in the lounge, speaking in Russian, the little ones played with the dogs, having fun as Ducky rolled around being cute, like a puppy.

"So tell me, Napoleon, how are you enjoying retirement in Russia?" April asked.

"It's nice being in Russia and not being shot at," Napoleon quipped. The former agents laughed with their friend. "Actually, I'm going to be moving back to the States."

"Really?" April said.

"Well, after coming here for Christmas, we went home and talked to our families about it," Shannon explained. "That's partly what this trip is for. Dimitri and Katrina wanted to visit before making any final decisions." She was speaking about her husband and her brother's wife.

"So where will you be moving to?" April asked.

"We haven't decided yet," Jason replied.

"Dad's trying to talk us into moving to New York," Shannon said.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Illya laughed.

Napoleon smiled and said, "It is their hometown."

"So what will you do if the kids decide to live someplace else, Napoleon?" April asked.

"If I can't convince them to live in New York, then I guess I'll have to move wherever they go," Napoleon sighed.

Katrina playfully rolled her eyes at her father-in-law, "Is he always like this?"

"Yes!" Illya and April said in unison. The group burst into laughter.

When their laughter died down, April turned to the twins and asked, "Do you have any places in mind that you might like to live?"

"We're thinking of maybe the Midwest?" Shannon answered, looking at her father for confirmation of the region. Napoleon smiled and nodded.

"Well, if it helps your decision, Minnesota is a nice area," April said, smiling.

"So is Reston," Illya joked.

"That's enough, stop trying to influence my children," Napoleon groused.

While the adults laughed and talked, four year old Svetlana wandered into the lounge from the foyer where the children were playing with the dogs.

Illya spotted the little girl and tears threatened to sting his eyes. Seeing the brunette reminded him of his daughter when she was the same age. How he missed her.

Svetlana walked up to her mother and tapped her on the leg, quietly calling her. When Katrina asked her daughter what she wanted, Svetlana informed her that she was hungry.

April smiled at the little one and glanced at her watch. She nearly jumped off the couch when she saw the time. "I'm so sorry, we seem to have lost track of the time. Why don't you make your way into the dining room while we bring out the food?"

"Great, I'm starving," Nico said, as he stood from the couch.

"You're always hungry," April groused as she led the group out of the lounge to a sea of laughter.


End file.
